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Naseem Hamed vs. Vuyani Bungu

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Capital Punishment
Date11 March 2000
VenueOlympia London, London, UK
Title(s) on the lineWBO and Lineal Featherweight Championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer United Kingdom Naseem Hamed South Africa Vuyani Bungu
Nickname "Prince" "The Beast"
Hometown Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Pre-fight record 33–0 (29 KO) 37–2 (19 KO)
Age 26 years 33 years
Height 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) 5 ft 5+12 in (166 cm)
Weight 126 lb (57 kg) 125 lb (57 kg)
Style Southpaw Orthodox
Recognition WBO and Lineal
Featherweight Champion
The Ring
No. 1 Ranked Featherweight
IBF[1]
No. 1 Ranked Featherweight
The Ring
No. 4 Ranked Featherweight
Result
Hamed defeated Bungu by 4th round KO

Naseem Hamed vs. Vuyani Bungu, billed as Capital Punishment, was a professional boxing match contested on 11 March 2000, for the WBO and Lineal featherweight championship.[2] The bout took place at the London Olympia.

Background

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In his previous fight, Naseem Hamed defeated César Soto to add the WBC featherweight championship to his own WBO version of the title.[3] Hamed had originally hoped to keep both titles, however, at the time the WBO was not a major sanctioning body. As a result, the WBC refused to allow Hamed to hold his title with the WBO's, and he was subsequently stripped of the honor in January 2000.[4][5] Shortly after Hamed's victory over Soto, his team began negotiations with former WBO super-bantamweight champion Junior Jones to be Hamed's next opponent for a scheduled March 11 fight.[6][7] Jones, however, refused the terms of the contract and the fight was ultimately cancelled in January 2000.[8] Only a week after the cancellation of the Hamed–Jones fight, it was announced that Hamed and then-current IBF super bantamweight champion Vuyani Bungu would meet instead.[9] The fight between Hamed and Bungu had been over a year in the making,[10] as both fighters had been two of the most successful champions in their respective weight classes. Hamed had been the WBO featherweight champion for over four years and Bungu had held the IBF super bantamweight title for over five years. Hamed, who was coming off of three consecutive lackluster performances, having gone the full 12-round distance with Wayne McCullough and César Soto and going deep into the fight with Paul Ingle before finally knocking Ingle out in the 11th round, promised that he would be "back to my best".[11] Hamed also predicted a knockout or stoppage though he could not say when during the fight it would happen.[12]

The fight

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The fight marked a resurgence for Hamed, as he asserted control over Bungu throughout the match. Despite Bungu's attempts at aggression, Hamed employed a combination of jabs and impactful punches to secure dominance in the first three rounds. In the fourth round, Hamed delivered a powerful left hand that resulted in Bungu being knocked down. Although Bungu made an effort to rise, he was unable to beat the referee's 10-count, leading to Hamed's knockout victory at 1:38 of the fourth round.[13]

Fight card

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Confirmed bouts:[14]

Weight Class Weight vs. Method Round Time Notes
Featherweight 126 lb Naseem Hamed (c) def. Vuyani Bungu KO 4/12 Note 1
Super lightweight 140 lb Micky Ward def. Shea Neary (c) TKO 8/12 Note 2
Featherweight 126 lb Juan Carlos Ramírez def. Steve Robinson KO 11/12
Super Welterweight 147 lb Michael Jones def. Alan Gilbert RTD 3/6
Cruiserweight 200 lb Mark Hobson def. Nikolai Ermenkov PTS 6/6
Heavyweight 200+ lb Albert Sosnowski def. Luke Simpkin PTS 4/4

^Note 1 For WBO Featherweight title.
^Note 2 For WBU Super Lightweight title.

Broadcasting

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Country Broadcaster
 United Kingdom Sky Sports
 United States HBO

References

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  1. ^ "FightNews.com World Boxing Rankings". fightnews.com. Fight News. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Naseem Hamed vs. Vuyani Bungu". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  3. ^ Hamed decisions Soto, defends WBO title, ESPN article, 1999-10-22 Retrieved on 2019-12-28
  4. ^ Hamed set to Lose his WBC Crown, Independent article, 1999-12-15 retrieved on 2019-12-29
  5. ^ Hamed stripped of title, UPI article, 2000-12-15 retrieved on 2019-12-29
  6. ^ Jones lined up for tilt at Hamed crown, Independent article, 1999-11-14 retrieved on 2019-12-29
  7. ^ Prince Naseem To Fight in March, CBS News article, 1999-12-21 retrieved on 2019-12-29
  8. ^ Hamed fight called off, BBC article, 2000-01-23 retrieved on 2019-12-29
  9. ^ Bungu finally gets the Prince, Independent Online article, 2000-01-31 retrieved on 2019-12-29
  10. ^ Hamed may fight Bungu this year, Independent article, 1999-02-25 retrieved on 2019-12-29
  11. ^ Hamed Aims to Tame the Beast, BBC article, 2000-03-10 retrieved on 2019-12-29
  12. ^ Hamed Aims to Kock Bungu Out, Independent Online article, 2000-03-09 retrieved on 2019-12-29
  13. ^ Hamed back to brilliant best, BBC article, 2000-03-12 Retrieved on 2019-12-29
  14. ^ "BoxRec - event".
Preceded by Naseem Hamed's bouts
11 March 2000
Succeeded by
Preceded by
vs. Victor Llerena
Vuyani Bungu's bouts
11 March 2000
Succeeded by